Ah, the open source business model, and the inevitable question that always accompanies its mention -- "How can you make money if you give the product away?" Then come the raised eyebrows when you mention support and training services. It does work, of course. Any business, whether it makes open or proprietary software products, or noise makers and party hats, needs to diligently think of ways to make its products more useful and appealing to its current -- and potential -- markets.

One of the best ways to do this is to just listen. What are current users (or those who'd like to, but...) asking for? Funambol is no stranger to asking its users how they feel about the business and its services, and seriously considering the feedback that is received. Customer demand is in large part why Funambol now offers hosting services for its commercial Carrier Edition software.

In my inbox yesterday, along with the notes from my mom, forwards from relatives and friends who never really write, and a wide variety of great deals on fake watches, I discovered a press release from Funambol. That in and of itself isn't unusual, but what the open source mobile sync and push solution company was reporting is remarkable on several levels.

Many open source software companies are seeing increases in revenue, stronger migration rates and a general upswing in business thanks to the rather anemic economy. You don't need to write about open source to see this -- it's readily apparent to anyone skimming tech-related headlines. Funambol's announcement certainly mentioned the economy, and gave some truly impressive figures surrounding the project's growth -- but they weren't in relation to undeniably important financial gains. The jaw-dropping growth is happening somewhere that's even more critical in the long-term: the community.